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Today, representative Maxine Waters made a devastating announcement on the House floor. She shared that her sister is dying of the coronavirus in a hospital in St. Louis, Missouri.
Waters, the California Democrat and chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, said, “I’m going to take a moment to dedicate this legislation to my dear sister who is dying in a hospital in St. Louis, Missouri right now, infected by the coronavirus.”
According to CNN, Waters spoke before the vote on a stimulus package worth more than $480 billion in response to COVID-19.
The bill was a part of the already passed Paycheck Protection Program and the pending Health Care Enhancement Act, which is also expected to pass the House vote today.
The bill would provide $370 billion in funding for small businesses loans and $100 billion for hospitals and additional coronavirus testing.
The businesses eligible for loans would include mom-and-pop shops as well as minority-owned businesses.
Waters said, “We need to do much more to help renters, home owners, people experiencing homelessness and mom-and-pop landlords.”
Waters is not the only member of Congress whose family has been personally affected by the loss of a family member due to coronavirus.
Senator and former presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren shared today that her brother passed away after testing positive for the virus.
You can listen to Waters’ full speech in the video below.
